2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 98 



difficult to obtain and too bulky to be handled by herbarium methods. 

 Collecting a single palm may take more time and trouble than a dozen 

 or a score of herbaceous species, or of branching, small-leaved trees. 

 The leaves, flowers, and fruits of the tall forest palms may be com- 

 pletely out of reach, since many of the larger kinds have the habit of 

 not flowering or fruiting until they emerge from the forest, or at least 

 are tall enough to reach the direct sunlight, at 30 or 40 feet, so that 

 climbing or cutting is necessary before any detailed study can be made. 

 Felling a tall palm in a tangled tropical forest often proves difficult, 

 even after the trunk is severed, but Dr. Schmitt was able to enlist 

 for such an adventure a party of men * from the cruiser. 



Since few of the related palms have been illustrated, the photo- 

 graphs from Cocos Island are of special value. Several of the illus- 

 trations are from photographs obtained for Dr. Schmitt by R. B. 

 Thompson, who took part in the palm excursion. The specimens were 

 collected August 1, 1938, and are preserved in the United States 

 National Herbarium. 



Since the name Rooscvcltia appears not to be preoccupied in botany, 

 it is a pleasure to accede to the wish of Dr. Schmitt that the beautiful 

 palm of Cocos Island, if it proved to be new, might bear the name 

 Rooseveltia frankliniana, in honor of President Roosevelt. 



HABITS OF ROOSEVELTIA AND RELATED PALMS 



The new palm is related to the well-known "royal palms" of 

 Florida and the West Indies (Roystonea floridana, R. regia and R. 

 oleraced), and to the mountain palms of Puerto Rico and neighboring 

 islands (Acrista monticola). Other related palms are known from 

 different localities in the tropical forest regions of South America, and 

 through Central America to Guatemala. About 40 species have been 

 described under the generic name Euterpe, others under Hyospathe, 

 Prcstoea, Oreodoxa, Acrista, Catis, Plectis, Ocnocarpus, and Jessenia. 



The royal palms, the largest and best-known members of the group, 

 are readily recognized by their massive symmetrical trunks, like col- 

 umns of marble, but among the other kinds are even more beautiful 

 forms. Some are known as mountain palms, from their habit of grow- 

 ing at the summits of tropical mountains, above the dense forests that 

 cover the lower slopes ; others live in swamps or among the under- 

 growth, in the permanent shade of the forest. Barren soils or rocky 



x Lt. Comdr. R. M. Peacher; Lt. L. M. LeHardy; Ensigns J. P. M. 

 Johnston, R. W. Meyers, and M. H. Buass; and J. L. Learson, M. S. Simon, 

 R. B. Thompson, Jack Barron, T. M. O'Neil, Joe Balicki, and L. F. McPherson. 



